Writing for Public Relations, Mass Communications Department, University of South Florida, Fall 2009

Main objectives:

To practice techniques for creating effective written public relations communications to achieve organizational goals, including news releases, proposal letters, broadcast scripts, and memos. Exercises based on case study scenarios.

Projects include:

Writing a strategic plan

Public Relations Design, Mass Communications Department, University of South Florida, Fall 2009

Main objectives:

Theoretical and practical applications of design for public relations publications. Design software. Study of visual design, page architecture, typography, color and illustrations. Integration of design elements in the design of different types of public relation publications.

Projects include:

Recruitment Campaign-worked as part of a communications team to develop design materials consistent with one message over a variety of materials. I created a half-page advertisement piece and also created a 11 x 17 full design poster.

Feature story (full media package)-wrote and designed a two page magazine article, which featured infographics and pictures.

E-Newsletter-worked as part of a communications team to develop an E-Newsletter that would be distributed to the class. I contributed an article to the newsletter.

Additional Experience:

Tijuana Flats; 2005-present

Part-time manager, cook, trainer, cashier

This job experience is relevant because:

The multi-tasking skills (cooking food, coordinating employees, cleaning the restaurant, greeting and waiting on guests) that are needed in order to accomplish smooth service for the guests.

Coordinating up to 10 employees at any one time, improved the ability to think quickly.

Gained experience working in teams toward a goal.

Shows dedication and stability (close to five years of service with the restaurant.)

Portfolio

Research document written for a panel discussion on health care reform.

STOP Act News Nugget

News nugget written about a Medicare stop fraud act.

FINRA Release

Press release written for a Financial Security event.

References

References

Dave Bruns

AARP Florida

200 W. College Ave.

Tallahassee, FL 32309

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter will recommend former AARP Communications Intern Frank Wyszynski for any professional communications position appropriate to a communications professional with an advanced degree and with two to four years’ professional experience.

As you may know, AARP is the nation’s largest membership association and is widely considered one of the most influential advocacy organizations in the world.As manager of AARP’s Florida State Office, I lead an active, high-achieving team in providing a wide range of communications products and services to AARP national and state leaders in Florida.Since Florida is a critical state for AARP – the Association has nearly 3 million members here, and Florida has the nation’s highest percentage of residents age 65+ – our communications team must set a fast pace and provide comprehensive support to an extremely active and effective professional staff of 21 and a volunteer corps totaling nearly 3,700.

To augment our team’s strengths and to create a pool of trained communicators familiar with AARP, we recruit talented interns.I want to stress that our communications internships don’t involve getting copies and coffee.We train our interns, challenge them, and hand them assignments suitable for degreed professionals with several years’ experience.By the end of an AARP Florida internship, they are capable of performing at a professional level in a wide range of roles.

Even in an intern corps that has produced some outstanding communications, public-relations, advertising and journalism professionals, Frank Wyszynski stands out in several important ways.

For example, during AARP’s highly challenging health-reform initiative in the white-hot debate of fall 2009, we handed Frank a tough assignment:With only hours to work with, he was to research participants on a high-profile televised debate in which our state’s top leader was participating.Very quickly, Frank was able to pull together a highly professional, well-researched and well-documented summary that provided our state director with key insights into the arguments that other participants in the panel would be likely to employ, together with their background and credentials.Our state director commented repeatedly on the quality of the analysis and documentation.Frank became our mainstay in this role, repeatedly producing the essential environmental and operational intelligence that our star players needed to perform.Think what these skills could mean for your team in a public-policy organization or the office of an elected official.

Frank also stands out for his ability to handle multiple assignments.During his internship, he was juggling classwork as a graduate student, part-time work outside his AARP internship, personal and family obligations and a 15-hour-per-week AARP internship. In his “spare time,” he tackled a new language!If you need a high-energy, highly organized producer capable of coping with conflicting demands, Frank is a candidate you cannot afford to overlook.

But Frank may have added his greatest value through his contributions to AARP Florida’s digital strategy.In this assignment, Frank went beyond the traditional internship role to lead other interns in organizing and disseminating key AARP messages, helping to develop schedules and assignments, exploiting opportunities in the external media environment and linking them to AARP messaging, and augmenting AARP’s reach and impact hrough digital media such as Twitter, Facebook, AARP-branded online vehicles and other innovative solutions.If your organization has identified a need to develop or maintain an effective digital strategy, you cannot overlook Frank and what he can offer to your organization.

As an experienced communication leader, I know how difficult it can be to determine reliability, effectiveness and capacity to add value when hiring.Let me assure you that if you hire Frank in a communication role, you will be making a decision that will reflect positively on your own leadership skills.

I would be delighted to provide additional information on Mr. Wyszynski.I can be reached at 850.577.5161 or at dbruns@aarp.org.